


Tater Tots and Chicken Wings

by HolisticPanda



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, i guess?, restaurant AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-07-18 08:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16115021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolisticPanda/pseuds/HolisticPanda
Summary: It wasn't the first time a parent had seen the toonish logo and accidentally brought their children in, not knowing that it was staffed mainly by beautiful women in tank tops and short shorts.





	Tater Tots and Chicken Wings

**Author's Note:**

> Title's on the nose but I'm bad at them ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“Furiosa, can you take over the door for me? I’m starving and wanna take my lunch,” Cheedo asked, bouncing up to the bar where the older woman was busy pouring a round of shots for a group of already plastered college boys.

Furiosa shoved the drinks forward and sighed, glancing around the restaurant to see if there was absolutely _anyone_ else who could work the door instead. She hated being forced to smile and pretend to be cheerful even though it was _technically_ her job, but all of the other waitresses were unfortunately either nowhere to be seen or already busy serving other customers. Sometimes, she really hated being the manager. “Sure. Half an hour.”

The young, dark-haired woman grinned widely and practically ran to the break room. “Great! Thanks, Furi!” she yelled over her shoulder.

After making sure that all of the customers sitting at the bar were taken care of (at least for the next half hour), she ran her fingers through her brown pixie cut and glanced down at her black tank top and short shorts to check if she was presentable before heading to the front of the restaurant to serve as the hostess.

Since it was pretty late and also a weeknight, the restaurant was relatively slow. The regulars always arrived early in the evening and there weren’t any good sport games happening, so she wasn’t expecting to have to do too much until Cheedo’s break was over.

So that’s why she was understandably surprised when a scruffy looking man and what seemed to be his young daughter walked in. They were quite the odd pair; while the girl was bouncy and bright eyed, looking around the restaurant with curiosity, the man shuffled along behind her with a guarded frown. Forcing what she hoped was a welcoming smile, she stepped out from behind the host stand to greet them with two menus in hand. “Hi, welcome to Hooters! Just the two of you?”

She noticed his eyes widen as he took in her attire and those of the other waitresses and couldn’t stop herself from snickering internally. Judging by the reddening of his ears and the scandalized expression on his face, he obviously hadn’t quite known what kind of a place this was. It wasn’t the first time a parent had seen the toonish logo and accidentally brought their children in, not knowing that it was staffed mainly by beautiful women in tank tops and short shorts.

“Yup! Just us!” the girl said, jumping forward when it became apparent that her father wasn’t planning on answering.

Furiosa glanced down at the dark haired girl and smiled wider, tucking the menus under her arm and holding out her hand for her to take. The child couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old, but her vibrant blue eyes conveyed a sharpness that she wasn’t used to seeing in someone so young. It was the only thing she seemed to share with her father as his brown hair was short and cropped close whereas hers was long, black and curly. Even their complexions were different what with the girl being ghostly pale and the man looking more like he spent most of his time outside. “Come with me, I’ll get you seated.”

She lead them to a booth in the back corner of the building, noting the way the man’s eyes anxiously scanned the room. She was good at reading customers and could tell that he was a little wary of people, so the more of the restaurant he could see the better. A tug on her hand caught her attention, and she glanced down to see the girl looking right back up at her.

“Are you a robot?” the girl whispered, pointing at the prosthetic making up the majority of her left arm with wonder.

“A cyborg, actually.” At the girl’s confused frown, she explained. “That means I’m part human, part robot.”

If it was even possible, the child’s eyes widened further. ” _Cool_.”

She had to stifle a laugh at the look of pure astonishment on the little girl’s face. “Right?” When they reached the back of the restaurant, she helped the girl slide into the booth across from her father. “Okay, you’re all set! Someone will be by to help you shortly.”

“You’re not gonna stay?” the girl asked, face falling and mouth forming a small pout.

Furiosa hesitated at the girl’s frown, desperately wanting to serve them herself, but she knew how unrealistic that was as the manager; especially since she’s supposed to be watching the door. Besides, they were in good hands with the girl working that particular section. “I can’t, but you’ll like Capable!” The girl nods reluctantly, still pouting a bit but quickly getting over it as she leans forward on the table to look eagerly at the menu.

“Sorry,” the man grunted, drawing her questioning gaze. “For her questions.”

He looks embarrassed, though she can’t imagine why. It’d be odder if the girl _wasn’t_ curious about her arm. She smiled to put him at ease, waving away his concerns with the very arm they were talking about. “It’s fine. It’s much better than people staring awkwardly at it and pretending they’re not.”

He smiled back at her, and for a brief second she thinks that he’s somewhat handsome in a shabby, grungy kind of way. But then she heard footsteps approach from behind and turned to see the aforementioned waitress bustling towards them, bright smile already in place.

“I’ve got it,” the redheaded young woman chirped cheerfully. The man's eyes shot up to her and then away, his ears reddening predictably. “My name’s Capable!” She pulled out a pen and scribbled her name down on a napkin along with a second right below it. “And this is Furiosa, our manager.“

Furiosa fought the urge to roll her eyes at his discomfort, though if she was being honest she couldn’t really blame him. The young woman, in all her charming, bouncing glory, tended to have that effect on even the most conservative of men. “She’ll take good care of you, but let me know if you need anything.” With a final smile at the small girl she walked away to greet the next customers that had just walked into the restaurant.

But even as she manned the door, every time she had a few minutes to relax she found that her eyes kept drifting to the scruffy looking man and his bright eyed daughter as they ordered and eventually received their food. She watched from afar while the girl ripped into her buffalo wings like she hadn’t eaten in days, and she had to smirk at the hapless look on her father’s face as he tried to get her to slow down and not talk with her mouth full.

“What're you staring at?” Cheedo asked from behind her, appearing out of literally nowhere.

Furiosa jumped and quickly snapped her head away from the back corner and pasted on what she hoped was a suitably nonchalant smile. “Just watching some of the game.”

The young woman furrowed her brow and glanced over at the television hanging above the small family, looking even more confused as she did so. “But UFC’s on, and I thought you said it was for dumbass douchebags who like to watch other dumbass douchebags kick the shit out of each other.”

Furiosa winced. “Yeah, well. You're good to take over, right?” she pivoted, not waiting for an answer as she sped back towards the bar.

She was annoyed with herself for getting caught staring, especially since she didn’t know exactly what it was about them that kept her so interested. She saw hundreds of people come through daily—men, women, children, old, young, gay, straight—but it wasn’t often she saw such a bizarre and oddly charming pair. Maybe it was because even though it didn’t seem like they belonged together at all they clearly cared deeply for one another or maybe it was simply because she’d been feeling a bit lonely lately, but either way it filled her with a mixture of envy and joy that she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on pouring drinks and conversing with some of the regulars, doing what she could to put them out of her mind, and it worked better than she’d expected; at least until Capable came jogging up to the bar.

“Furiosa!” she called, holding a tray of empty beer glasses. She looked like she was desperately trying to hide a smile and it immediately made her suspicious. “Table six wants you. Oh, and by the way, he’s _single._ ” She winked none too subtly, placing the glasses on the bar to stare imploringly at her boss.

“Did they say why?” she asked, purposefully ignoring the second part of her statement.

The redhead’s grin widened. “Nope.”

Sighing quietly, Furiosa rolled her eyes and stepped out onto the floor, motioning for Capable to take her place.

As she neared the table she noticed that the man looked embarrassed, his ears an even brighter red that was quickly spreading to his cheeks. They were sharing baskets of tater tots and wings, and the girl’s face was a mess of wing sauce and ketchup.

“You asked for me?” Even as she spoke she was reaching for her waist pouch, producing a handful of wet napkins. She opened one and began to clean the girl’s face until she could actually see her skin again, then moved on to her tiny fingers even though there was a good chance they’d just get dirty in a few more minutes anyway.

“Papa likes you,” Glory suddenly blurted out once her mouth was clear, causing the woman to freeze mid wipe.

The man looked sharply at his daughter, a mix of shock and horror on his face. “ _Glory_.”

Furiosa raised her eyebrows. She wasn't sure whether to be more surprised by the girl’s somewhat odd name or her confession, but she couldn't very well _not_ tease him when he was looking so scandalized. “Is that so? Do you like me?”

“I said that I thought you were _interesting_ , not that I liked you,” he said, glaring at the innocently smiling girl. “M’sorry. She can be too precocious for her own good sometimes.”

“Pa can be too _scared_ for his own good sometimes.” She turned her curious gaze to Furiosa, staring up at her imploringly. “So? Do you like my Pa back?”

“Well, he _does_ have a really cute daughter, so...I suppose that I do like him.” She’d meant it as more of a joke than anything, so that’s why she was understandably surprised by the wave of butterflies she felt in her stomach after the words left her mouth because what the hell? She wasn't new to flirting a bit with customers—it was a necessity if you wanted a decent tip—but she hadn't felt that nervous about it since her first week on the job.

“Yes!” The girl cheered, throwing up a triumphant fist.

He gave his daughter an exasperated look, his entire neck and face a lovely shade of pink. “Glory, it’s her _job_ to like you.”

At that Furiosa stepped back from the table because even though yeah, it’s technically true, she’d genuinely enjoyed serving this odd little family and his statement had stung a little bit more than she’d expected. She was used to the stigma that came along with being a Hooters girl, but she hadn't anticipated a statement like that from _him_.

The hurt must’ve show on her face as he grimaced and raised a placating hand. “Not—I don’t mean—” Unable to form a coherent explanation he closed his eyes and sighed. “Not like _that_.”

“you can have a job where you _like_ people?!” Glory gasped, excitement visible on her face. She looked like someone had just told her the Easter bunny was real, and just like that the uncomfortable tension was completely dissipated.

Furiosa leaned forward to ruffle her dark curls, laughing at how completely blown away the girl looked. “That's right, but I'd like you even if it _weren't_ my job.” She gave him a meaningful glance and was more satisfied than she cared to admit by the way he sheepishly avoided her gaze.

The man opened his mouth to say something when the doors to the restaurant suddenly slammed open. A group of seven or eight teens with dark jackets and buzzcuts swaggered in a second later, and Furiosa fought the urge to groan as she got a look at who was leading the pack. Warboys, the local wannabe gang, usually weren’t all that hard to handle on their own, but there were certain unstable guys like Slit who only knew how to escalate any situation they found themselves in. The restaurant immediately quieted save for the music coming through the speakers as everyone turned to stare at the door.

“Shit, dude, I told you the dyke was working today. Let’s just come back tomorrow, Slit,” one of the kids mumbled, eyeing Furiosa nervously as she strode right towards them.

Slit shoved the kid and scowled. “Shut the fuck up.” he approached the host stand where Cheedo was currently doing her best impression of a woman who _wasn't_ petrified by his teardrop face tattoos and excessive, gaudy facial piercings. “Table for eight, sweetheart.”

Cheedo swallowed noisily and raised her chin, emboldened by Furiosa’s presence at her side. “You know you’re not welcome here. _Leave_.” When he didn't budge, she turned to where Capable was watching the scene from the bar. “Capable, call the police.” The redhead immediately did as she asked, pulling out her cell phone and speeding towards the break room where she couldn’t be easily followed.

The leader of the group just shrugged nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned with the possibility of being arrested. “The police won’t get here for at least five minutes. What should we do until then?” Slit leered, moving to get right in Furiosa's face. It was a bit amusing to see as she had a good inch or two him easy, even if he was a bit bulkier.

“Leave Furiosa alone or else, skullface!” A shout rang out from the back of the restaurant, drawing the attention of everyone in the building. They all simultaneously turned to see Glory standing on the table, arms crossed and eyes narrowed at the group of boys. It was more adorable than it was intimidating, and if she weren't currently staring down a thug Furiosa might have laughed.

There’s a good five seconds of silence before the guys behind Slit broke down into laughter, and he scowled at the girl as a result. “You got a problem, kid?” the man seethed, taking a few steps towards their table. He’s stopped by a hand on his shoulder, belonging to the same member of his crew that’d tried to stop him before.

“Slit, come on, it’s just a kid. Let’s just get outta here.”

Scoffing, Slit leveled him with a glare. “You scared of babies now too, Nux? She opened her mouth and now she needs to learn what that means.” Before anyone could stop him, he wrenched his shoulder out of his friend’s grip to push roughly past Furiosa, stalking his way towards Glory. He reached out to grab the girl’s arm, and that’s when everything began to happen at once.

In a split second her father had the punk’s forearm in a tight grip behind his back and the side of his face pressed hard into the tabletop. His arm was being pulled almost to its breaking point, the sound of his creaking bones audible as far as the next table over, and the more he fought against the hold the harder he pressed until the teen begged him to stop.

“Told ya,” Glory smiled, casually sitting back down in her seat and popping a tater tot into her mouth as though there wasn’t a snarling, cursing teenager right in front of her.

He looked for Furiosa to see what he should do with the punk only to see that she was right next to him with a very heavy looking plate raised and ready to strike. There’s no doubt in his mind that had he not moved the boy currently struggling to release himself would’ve gotten a hell of a lot worse than just a tweaked elbow.

When sirens were heard in the distance the room erupted with movement. “Shit, let’s get out of here!” one of the Warboys yelled, peeling out of the restaurant followed by the rest of the crew.

Realizing he was being left behind, Slit once again tried to fight his way out. “Lemme go, motherfucker!”

The man cocked an eyebrow at Furiosa to see what he should do but the choice is taken away from him as three police officers rushed into the building and then over to where they were. One of them threw Slit in cuffs and hauled him off towards the car while the other two stayed behind to try to figure out what had happened.

They spent the next half hour or so questioning both patrons and those directly involved, with the scruffy looking man suddenly becoming more assertive and doing a surprisingly good job of relaying the events and giving accurate descriptions of the other guys who’d run off.

“Thanks,” he mumbled once they’d left, tiredly leaning against the booth where Glory was currently doing her absolute best to put away a frankly obscenely large slice of caramel fudge cheesecake.

“For what? You did all the work. It seemed like you knew what you were doing when you were talking to the cops,” she said curiously.

He gave her a look that clearly conveyed he knew she was digging and smirked. “For trying to protect Glory. _And_ the free cake.”

“It’s the least I can do. You can have any drink or entree you want on the house too, if you want.” She told herself she wasn’t trying to make them stick around a bit longer, that she was just doing what any manager would in this situation, but even as she rationalized it to herself she knew that she was full of shit.

He nodded at that, smile widening. “We’ll take you up on that.” He paused for a second and stared at her consideringly before suddenly averting his gaze. “Next time.”

“Ooooh,” Glory crooned, batting her eyelashes and earning a giggle from Capable who’d just come over to clear their finished dishes. “Pa’s got a date!”

“It’s _not_ a date.” His quickly reddening face completely belied his statement, earning another laugh from the redhead.

Taking pity on him, Furiosa fought down her own laughter to stare directly into his eyes. “I’m not working Thursday night. How about eight?”

Capable and Glory both gasped in excited disbelief, turning to stare at him with hopeful, imploring eyes. “Yeah, how about eight?” Capable echoed.

Ignoring them completely, he dipped his head and smiled. “Eight sounds good.”

She was well aware how odd the entire situation was and didn't know where this thing would lead or if they’d even have anything in common, but she was excited to see where it went regardless. If nothing else it’d be a funny story later on. “Great.”

He nodded then and sheepishly stuck out his hand. “My name’s Max. By the way.”

Furiosa lifted her brows, only realizing at that moment she hadn’t even known his name. But then why would she? She usually only bothered to learn the names of her regulars, and even then only the good tippers.

She couldn't help but think that the plainness of the name suited him, and with a somewhat wry smile, she clasped the offered hand in hers and met his gaze head on.

“Furiosa. Nice to meet you, Max.”

A small, sticky hand landed on top of theirs, drawing both of their attention to his daughter. “I'm Glory!” the girl cut in, caramel and cream from her cake all over her cheeks. With an exasperated sigh Max let go of her hand to grab a napkin, doing his best to clean his daughter up amidst Furiosa's incredulous snickering. Glory was the messiest eater she'd ever seen.

Yeah, she couldn't wait to get to know this little family.

**Author's Note:**

> Are there any other dad Max/Glory daughter fics out there or am I the only one who really enjoys writing crack fics.


End file.
